Given that I wouldn't be surprised if he probably had to explain to Arcueid what's happening to her, I'd say that's very true.Originally Posted by Rylin
Shiki: Funny - her, I don't remember killing . . .Also in the case of Sacchin.
Arcueid: Geez Shiki. Another vampire chick? What is it with you. You are like a roach motel for vampires.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
The World of the Moon
(X)
Twenty Six: Hunters in the Dark
I wanted to try a slightly different kind of story for this. Less fluff all around.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
(X)
"What is it with Dead Apostles and castles?" Shiki muttered to himself as he continued sneaking through the darkened corridors of the ruined bastion. "Is it a requirement for getting into the club or something?"
Briefly, he remembered one of Arcueid's lectures on the subject as she explained how this was a hobby amongst vampires, as they played at being lords with their own territories and spheres of influence.
Worse yet was that this particular Apostle apparently had enough influence to have gathered quite a number of minions to his name, whether through draining the blood of helpless victims or being powerful enough to convince others to join him.
This, of course, made the whole affair somewhat more complicated. Simply hunting down this particular Dead Apostle would leave the world with one less bloodsucker, but the several dozen vampires and Living Dead that could potentially become vampires would still be problems that would need to be dealt with. Before, Arcueid had generally left any of the stragglers like thee Dead to their own devices after dispatching the head, apparently secure in the belief that the Church would come and clean up properly after her.
But now she had agreed that leaving them alive to continue preying on humans for longer than necessary, even for a couple of days, wasn't acceptable.
A far cry from the days when she hunted vampires simply because it was what she had been told to do.
Of course, that had led directly to more work for Shiki.
“So, you sneak in and head straight for the head vampire, Bra... Brannagh?"
"Brauner."
"Yeah, that. I'll draw the rabble away from you, maybe lure them into a place where I can take them on too."
"There's a lot of rabble. You want to lure all of them at once? That’s going to take a lot of work."
"Oh, don't worry about that," she beamed. "I'm good at noisy.”
All in all, he supposed it was an acceptable trade off.
(X)
Her reputation could be a bit of a problem at times. Sometimes it manifested in several of the Dead Apostle Ancestors deciding that enough was enough and sending someone after her, like that incident with Nrvnsqr Chaos back when she had just met Shiki. That had been annoying.
Sometimes, though, they problem appeared in the opposite direction – such as now. If she were to make her presence known, the various minions and underlings of the Dead Apostle holed up in here would mostly likely flee as fast as possible. She didn’t doubt her ability to hunt them down, of course, but it would end up wasting her time and energy, as well as increasing the possibility that at least one of them would get away and continue infecting other people.
There was always the Church to clean up, of course, but in Arcueid’s none-too-humble opinion, the less she had to deal with their involvement, the better.
Well, there were always ways around problems. The various vampires involved would probably be more than willing to handle what they believed to be an ordinary intruder, so that was what she would pretend to be.
Arcueid had never developed any particular talent for sensing the magic used by humans and Dead Apostles because she’d never really needed it. But she still knew enough to sense the wards the Dead Apostle had strewn all about the Castle to warn him of any who approached.
Silently, she wondered if he could tell that Shiki had already killed one of those wards, effectively creating a blind spot around the western side of the castle and allowing him to sneak in undetected. Even if this Brauner suspected that there was an intruder, he couldn’t know.
As for her own entry…
Winding her fist up, Arcueid delivered a punch straight into the wall, and with a sound vaguely like a thunderclap a hole about twice her size was blown open, allowing her unfettered access into the heart of the castle.
Now came the slightly more tricky part. No doubt this would alert any present within the walls and send them running to deal with the intruder. Now she had to continue to lead them on without letting them know just who she was so as to prevent a rout. Either that or take them out in small groups so they wouldn’t know just who had decided to approach them.
With a confident nod, Arcueid ventured into the darkened hallways of the castle.
(X)
The stench of blood was everywhere, Shiki thought distantly as he continued his slow advance through the hallways of the castle. Not that it was something particularly surprising, but it was still a sobering reminder of the nature of inhabitants of the place.
Silently, he pondered how well Arcueid had been doing. Assuming she’d kept to their schedule, she should be busy rampaging through the castle, causing all the underlings to run and try to figure out just what was going on. Would the smell of blood affect her too? She’d recovered a lot of control after he’d gotten her the blood fruit of Einnashe, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of something going wrong now that they were in the heart of the enemy’s territory.
Then again it wasn’t like this would be the first time she’d assaulted a Dead Apostle stronghold.
He could trust Arcueid.
On that pleasing thought, he rounded the corner and came face to face with the room he had left two minutes ago. He recognized that incredibly tacky suit of armour immediately.
There were no sharp bends that would have allowed me to get into this room. Shiki’s eyes narrowed. If that’s the case, that the only explanation is magic.
A spatial distortion field of some kind? Raising his knife, Shiki glanced around quickly, looking for the telltale signs of him being trapped in a bounded field of some kind. He wasn’t an expert on magic by any means, but this was the sort of basic knowledge one had to pick up if they were going to make a habit of hunting Dead Apostles.
Or they could go the ‘monstrously powerful’ route like Arcueid had. That worked too.
No use. Even after several long seconds Shiki couldn’t find any sign of the bounded field’s… well, boundaries. Which meant that he wouldn’t know where he would end up if he ended up walking in any particular direction. Even staying still wasn’t any guarantee that his location wasn’t shifting.
Well, there were always alternatives. This would shoot the ‘stealthy approach’ method to straight hell, but all in all it was a trade he was willing to make.
Spotting a point of death on the floor, Shiki took a single step over and stabbed down.
(X)
Things were going well so far, Arcueid noted, as she continued ducking through the corridors of the castle. She’d run into three separate groups who had come to check up on what the ruckus and noise was all about, and all three had been small enough for Arcueid to ensure that none of them escaped.
Of course this would lead to the other people in the premises being more wary of whatever it was that was stalking them. The large and rather messy bloodstains that now adorned several sections of the place probably weren’t helping either.
Breaking down a door, Arcueid stepped into a what appeared to be a rather large and elaborate dining chamber. The elegance of the furnishings was somewhat marred by the desiccated human corpse lain on the table and Arcueid wrinkled her nose in distaste. Evidently the Dead Apostle had finished his meal and his servants had not yet gotten around to cleaning up after him.
A shuffling sound came from the far end of the room, and Arcueid frowned as she caught sight of multiple Dead lurching at her. These mindless puppets wouldn’t have the cognitive ability necessary to discover how powerless they were before her, which allowed her to fight as wildly as she pleased.
A grim determination on her face, she extended her claws and leaped forward.
An instant later, the entire floor above her shuddered as walls and part of the ceiling crumbled away into dust and rubble, the falling stones crushing many of the Dead under their weight. From the crumbling stone a dark shape emerged – Shiki, jumping from falling rock to falling rock in an attempt to not get crushed by the debris. A large chunk of stone fell towards Arcueid and she tossed it to the side with a casual sweep of her hand, shattering it into fragments as she did so.
Finally, he landed on the ground in a crouch as Arcueid reached over to kill the last of the Dead that had escaped being flattened, and an uneasy silence descended on the two of them as they looked at each other.
“I thought you were supposed to do your part quietly,” Arcueid finally ventured.
“I ran into some trouble,” Shiki said noncommittally.
“So, what, do we split up again, or…?” as she spoke, Arcueid kept her sense on alert, trying to sense if any lesser vampires or the Dead Apostle would be approaching.
“I don’t know. I ran into a bounded field, I guess that means either the Dead Apostle knew we were here or he’s paranoid,” Shiki ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe both.”
Arcueid craned her neck, looking up to see the extent of the damage. If she leaned juuuust so, she could make out the night sky far overhead and the twinkling of stars.
“Sheesh, just what exactly did you stab, Shiki?”
“I thought it was the point of the death for the second floor.”
“It looks more like for the entire eastern half of the castle,” Arcueid shot a glance at Shiki. “Weren’t you supposed to have killed Louvre so silently you got past Enhance and a Mage Association army without either of them knowing?”
“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy… or something like that,” Shiki shrugged. “Come on. He might have tried to run in the meantime.”
“Somehow, I doubt it,” Arcueid said as they began walking through one of the intact doorways. The rabble, maybe, but the Dead Apostle of a Castle or a territory have a thing about never leaving the place. I guess it would be considered a blow to their pride if they were to retreat? I never really understood that, to be honest.”
“Speaking of Castles, how did this Castle manage to get set up here without anyone noticing?”
“Oh, people noticed,” Arcueid said offhandedly. “Mostly the Church and Atlas and Clock Tower… and me, I guess. It’s shielded from view from ordinary humans, and there’re enough of these Castles around that I guess a Dead Apostle thought he could go under the radar for a while?”
“He must still be pretty powerful if he managed to claim a castle, right?”
“I guess,” Arcueid shrugged. “I mean, before it wasn’t something I really paid very much attention to.”
And after that the two of them were silent as they continued making their way through the castle.
(X)
With navigation made somewhat harder due to the collapsed Castle (but only somewhat, since in between Shiki’s agility and Arcueid’s strength they were able to keep up a brisk enough pace.
A few more scattered minor Ghouls and Living Dead were still milling about, but they were dealt with quickly enough, and before long they had ended up in front of what Arcueid could feel as a supernatural presence.
It was the vampire – or at least, Shiki hoped it was.
“I’ll go first,” Arcueid said without preamble, and blew the door down with a single swipe of her claws, before charging into the room.
Or at least, she tried to. She leapt forward, but barely appeared to have crossed any distance at all. Shiki’s eyes narrowed. The spatial distortion again.
Through the doorway, he could vaguely make out the figure of a man dressed in rich red robes, eyes glittering like fiery coals from an inhumanly pale face.
“The White Princess, here?” he demanded. “But it is no matter. Not even you can break through to reach me, Princess!”
Not wasting time with words, Arcueid swung her arm out, letting a ripple of energy pass through the air – which twisted away to crash into the ceiling.
“I see,” Arcueid finally said after a silence. “A bending of the space of reality to prevent or force movement – it’s not on the level of the Second Magic, but approaching it.”
“No matter how powerful you are, you are forced to operate within the realm of the physical,” the Dead Apostle was acting uncommonly smug for someone located in the same room as Arcueid, Shiki decided. He supposed that he would be able to pull off the same trick to get him out of the room instantly, so he probably felt secure in his position.
“Shiki,” Arcueid said. “Kill something.”
Theoretically Shiki could concentrate hard enough to see the death of the magic that now filled the room, but doing so had a nasty tendency to cause his eyes to bleed and be rendered unusable for several days – not something Shiki particularly desired. And besides, it appeared Arcueid already had a plan in mind, so…
A point of death on the wall right next to him. Almost without conscious thought, Shiki stabbed it.
The rumbling sound as the other half of the castle began to collapse was somewhat satisfying. The floor giving way from under him, decidedly less so. With a light tap of his feet, Shiki jumped into the air, avoiding a chunk of falling stone as it careened down at him. As it passed, Shiki slashed at it, splitting it apart.
Meanwhile, the vampire Brauner appeared to have been disoriented by the sudden destruction of the castle – and somewhat more relevantly, that there were now several hundred objects shifting and warping at random through his bounded field, rendering everything a confused mess.
He focused, stabilizing the space around him for a brief moment – and it was in that moment that Arcueid, hovering in the air nearby, struck.
Eyes shining golden, she brought her hand forward – and blades of howling wind formed in the space all around the Dead Apostle, tearing him to shreds in a second. Watching from his vantage point of crumbling stone, Shiki was briefly reminded of the time he had seen her do almost the same thing to Roa – and how much more powerful this casually summoned blast of wind was compared to the backbreaking effort that had consumed her life back then.
Closing her eyes, Arcueid breathed out, letting the wind disperse and the blood spattered remains of the Dead Apostle fall to the ground.
And then a chunk of falling masonry struck her square on the head.
Not pausing to see Arcueid’s reaction (he could hear her annoyed grunt anyway), Shiki switched his focus to jumping across the falling stones and until he could find safe purchase on the ground.
(X)
“Well, that’s that.”
“Yeah,” Arcueid nodded once. “I wasn’t really expecting to level the whole castle, but I guess it’s not a big deal either way.”
A single forlorn tower stood in the distance, apparently having not been affected by either of Shiki’s sudden killings. It was all that remained of what had once been the bastion of a Dead Apostle.
“Are we done here?” Shiki questioned is he reached into the pocket of his jacket, drawing out the bandages he used to cover his eyes when they weren’t needed.
“I suppose. I mean, there might still be Dead and Ghouls around, but if there are they’ll be trapped under the rubble,” Arcueid continued. “I guess we can leave this to the Church for cleanup.”
“Ah, True Ancestor! And… Tohno-kun?”
“Speak of the devil,” and Arcueid whirled to face a familiar dark shape that had emerged from the woods around the castle. “Hiya, Ciel! How are things?”
“What are you – why is the entire castle…”
“Well, we already killed the Dead Apostle. That’s the hard part out of the way, so I guess I can leave the rest to you,” Arcueid gave Ciel a cheery wave and grabbed a hold of Shiki’s arm. “Take care, Ciel!”
“Ah! Wait! You have-“ anything else Ciel was about to say was swallowed up in nothing as Arcueid tore a hole through the air to bring them back to the outskirts of the Millennium Castle.
“Should we have left behind like that?”
“Oh, come on. You know if we’d stuck around we’d end up with another hour of questions and debriefing,” Arcueid paused. “And maybe she’d try to fight me again anyway. You know how it is.”
Shiki sighed. “You should get along better with her, Arc.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said flippantly. “But for now… we work together pretty well, don’t we, Shiki?”
Shiki smiled and nodded as he reached up to retie the bandages around his eyes. “I guess we do, Arcueid. I guess we do."
(X)
Thank you for reading.
Next: Tea for Two
Last edited by pureauthor; February 3rd, 2012 at 12:29 AM.
Nice story. It's a great read, and I enjoyed every word of it.
Excellent descriptions, good writing for how things work, and it leaves you eager to read the next sentence. Always a great thing for Arcueid X Shiki fics.
Also, great fairy tale for the last one, too. It was adorable.
I always enjoy reading each chapter, even if I don't always comment on them. Keep up the great work, Pureauthor.
I'm starting to suspect that talking with Kieran influences my rolls on Fate/Grand Order Heavily. How else can you explain me talking with him, then rolling for 30, only to get 3 Archer of Shinjuku on my second ten roll?
I write like Douglas Adams. Proof: http://iwl.me/s/696f37bd
*chuckle* Once again, Arc proves that she can do noisy . . . And Shiki's picking up the habit, himself. It's amazing how well you combined an action piece with several comedy scenes - great work.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy my work - even if you don't always comment.
A certain level of detachment appears to me to be a healthier state of mind for vampire hunting. Regardless, glad you liked this work.
The World of the Moon
(X)
Twenty Seven: Tea for Two
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
(X)
"Akiha-sama, your tea." Kohaku smiled as she lifted the cup from the tray, placing it delicately on the small table in front of her.
"Thank you, Kohaku," briefly lifting her eyes from the book she was reading, Akiha nodded. "That will be all."
As she lifted one hand to lift the porcelain cup from the saucer, Akiha paused to take a look around the Tohno mansion's garden.
The sun shone brightly in the brilliant blue sky overhead - perfect weather, and part of the reason why she had chosen to take her afternoon tea out here instead of in the dining room or her bedroom as usual.
As a consequence, Akiha was in a better mood than had been in for most of the week - of late, complications with running the Tohno group's holdings had left her feeling particularly drained, and a chance to relax and unwind was most welcome.
Now, if only her brother were here to relax with her, the situation would be all but perfect.
"Hey, Little Sister! Fancy meeting you out here!"
And there went her good mood. Resisting the urge to frown, she shifted her gaze to look at the newcomer to what was supposed to be a private tea party.
One Arcueid Brunestud, complete with eternally cheery smile, shining golden hair, eyes the colour of rubies, and the body that Akiha would be willing to kill for.
"Arcueid," Akiha nodded cordially. "Nii-san isn't here right now."
"Oh, I know that!" Arcueid laughed. "He's still in school right now, isn't he? I just had some free time and decided to come hang out here."
"When do you ever not have free time?" Akiha muttered under her breath.
Regardless, it was true that Arcueid had come over rather frequently - Akiha didn't really feel like getting into an argument with Shiki over whether or not the vampire was allowed to enter the mansion unannounced. Not only was she not sure that it was argument she could actually win, but she didn't need to add any bad blood between her and Shiki right now.
And so, Akiha sighed and bundled her own feelings into a ball, as she always did. She shoved those feelings into a tiny corner of her heart, as she always did. And she put on a tiny, tolerant smile, as she always did.
"Well," she said out loud. "I'm not going to stop you. Do what you like."
Her hope that Arcueid would take this as a hint to leave her alone was quickly dashed as Arcueid promptly grabbed the other chair at the table and plopped herself down opposite her.
"... What are you doing?" Akiha muttered, already dreading the answer.
"Oh, I though I could come spend some quality time with you, Little Sister!" Arcueid beamed. "I thought you looked a little lonely, so that's why I joined you here. It's not good to be alone, is it?"
Resisting the urge to let out a very long and very deep sigh (Arcueid being Arcueid, she wouldn't get the hint anyway), Akiha muttered, "No, I suppose not," a thought struck her and she turned to face Arcueid. "Would you like some tea?"
"Thanks! Don't mind if I do."
Raising her hand, Akiha signalled for Kohaku to approach, and she sat back to endure what promised to be a long, painful afternoon.
(X)
The two of them sat, side by side, sipping at their cups as the afternoon wore on. Conversation was minimal, mostly limited to Arcueid's comments on how pretty this or that aspect of the Tohno garden, which Akiha usually agreed with – Kohaku knew her way around the gardens, and she had been handling them for several years now. Whenever they were on the verge of finishing their drinks Kohaku would appear as if by magic to top up the cups with a fresh batch of steaming tea.
Akiha was just beginning to think that this might be a somewhat tolerable session after all when Arcueid placed her teacup on the table and turned to her.
“Yes, what is it?” Akiha questioned although a part of her told her that by opening her mouth she was going down a deep, dark path.
“Is it hard?”
Akiha stared blankly at Arcueid for a long moment. “Is what hard?” She finally asked.
“Being you,” Arcueid shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, Shiki always talks about how you’re always busy and you’re never really at home except in the mornings before he goes to school.”
Nii-san… Nii-san thinks I’m spending too much time at work? That Shiki was worried about her warmed Akiha’s heart, although she was nonetheless slightly annoyed that this information had to come via Arcueid, whom Shiki had apparently been confiding in.
“Well, my position as head of the Tohno household demands this of me,” Akiha said, her voice noncommittal. “It’s the life I have been brought up in, and I accept it.”
It is the life I was trained to live.
“What about you, then?” Akiha questioned, seeking to change the subject. “You’re supposed to be a princess, aren’t you?” Not that you ever act like it.
“Well, True Ancestor society isn’t… wasn’t much like human society,” Arcueid said as she took a long sip from her cup. “Being a princess in there wasn’t much like being nobility here. My only responsibility to was to hunt down the Dead Apostles and Demon Lords.”
“Sounds hard,” Akiha said without much meaning behind it.
“Well, someone had to do it, and I was bred to be that one” a soft thump as Arcueid leaned back in her chair. “I never really questioned it when I was brought up. It was all I knew.”
Akiha herself remained silent as she took in Arcueid’s words. “But that’s not all you know now, is it?” she asked, softly.
“No, I guess not,” the True Ancestor scratched at her forehead. “It’s still a job I have to do, of course, but for now, I guess I can relax. But what about you?”
“What about me?” Akiha shrugged.
“I mean, you don’t relax very often, do you?”
“I’m relaxing right now,” or at least I was until you showed up… somewhat. Akiha resisted the urge to sigh, replacing it instead with a sip.
“More tea, Akiha-sama?” Kohaku appeared at her side again, teapot in hand.
“Yes, that would be nice, thank you,” Akiha nodded and placed her cup on the table for Kohaku to top up.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about,” Arcueid said as she handed her own cup to Kohaku to refill.
“What is what you’re talking about?”
“You’re not relaxed at all,” she said, shifting her chair so she could lean closer to Akiha. “You’re always sitting up straight, always speaking reserved, always putting that mask on. How can you have fun that way?” Arcueid blinked. “It’s not because I’m here, is it? I don’t really care about polite behaviour or anything, so you don’t need to bother.”
“You needn’t worry that I would make the effort to behave differently around you,” Akiha muttered. If Arcueid got the insult she gave no sign of it, and so Akiha continued. “This is how I behave normally, Arcueid. It’s how I was raised.”
“I’m just saying – just because it’s the way you were raised doesn’t mean it’s the way it has to be. Don’t you know? It’s hard to have fun when you’re looking dignified.”
“What would you know about looking dignified?” Akiha sighed and shook her head.
“… Well, I know I became happier after learning how to let loose and enjoy myself.”
Silently, she wondered what Arcueid really meant by that. She still didn’t know that much about the blonde woman’s history, and to be honest she still didn’t really care that much.
“You have your way of living, I have mine. I believe the matter is closed,” she said firmly, and Arcueid sighed.
“Have it your way, Little Sister.”
“And stop calling…” Akiha trailed off and took a deep breath. “Arcueid.”
“Hm?”
“Why do you keep calling me Little Sister?”
“Hm? Didn’t we go through this before?” Arcueid chuckled. “I mean, I’m going to marry-“
“Yes, yes,” Akiha cut her off. “But whatever our potential relations in the future, I have a name.”
“Oh?” Arcueid blinked and looked uncommonly puzzled. “But calling you that sounds more affectionate, doesn’t it?”
I don’t particularly want affection from you, Arcueid. Biting her tongue, Akiha replaced the retort with a drink from her teacup.
“You… don’t like me calling you that?” Arcueid ducked her head to look at Akiha, making her look uncommonly like a little kid.
Akiha debated the merits of simply telling Arcueid ‘yes’ and getting it over with. But instead she let out a very long, low breath in an attempt to keep her temper in check.
“Do you like calling me that?” she asked instead.
To her surprise, a wide smile blossomed on Arcueid’s face. “Yeah! I mean, it shows our relationship off rather well, doesn’t it?” she trailed off and looked to the ground. “Plus, well…”
Akiha raised an eyebrow. “Plus?”
Arcueid smiled slightly. “Plus, well… I always wanted to have a little sister.”
Akiah sputtered, nearly inhaling her tea in the process. After an extended coughing fit lasting several long seconds, she turned to look at Arcueid. “Pardon?”
“You heard me,” the vampire shrugged. “I never had a real family before. And well, I guess I wondered what it would be like. Having someone younger who’d look up to me and ask me things and someone I could spend time with… you know, stuff like that. Especially after seeing what Hisui and Kohaku are like. I think it’d be nice, having that kind of relationship with someone.”
“Shall I point out that you’ve done very little that would let me look up to you about?” Akiha said archly. “And I’m not sure any relationship where Kohaku is involved is one you want to emulate.”
Arcueid chuckled. “Hey, Little Sister?”
“What?”
“Do you think you could call me Nee-san?”
Fortunately Akiha didn’t have any tea in her mouth at that moment, but she still managed to nearly choke anyway. When her coughing fit had subsided, she turned to glare at Arcueid. “No.”
“… Oh. Okay.” Arcueid sighed and slumped back in her chair, a disappointed expression on her face.
Silence descended on the two of them once more as they continued to sit and wait in the sun.
(X)
“Arcueid.”
“…”
Akiha sighed and leaned over to shake the sleeping vampire on the shoulder. “Arcueid, wake up.”
“Mm?” the vampire stretched and shook her head as she returned to wakefulness. “Whuzzat?”
“You fell asleep,” Akiha said shortly. “It’s evening already.”
“Oh…” slumping forward, Arcueid rubbed at her eyes sleepily. “Sorry. The sun makes me drowsy.”
“It’s fine,” Akiha muttered. “But I needed to go off already, so I decided to wake you first.”
“Oh. ‘Kay.” Standing, Arcueid yawned and stretched, unintentionally giving Akiha a very generous view of her chest as she did so.
“I trust you can see your own way out.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Arcueid clapsed her hands behind her back and leaned forward. “Hey, by the way, Little Sister?”
“What is it?”
“I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you,” Arcueid smiled. “Let’s do it again sometime, okay?”
“…” Akiha closed her eyes and let out a sigh before she turned to look at Arcueid. “Yes, I suppose today wasn’t half-bad.”
Arcueid flashed another beaming smiled before she took to the skies with a single jump, vanishing from view quickly.
Akiha stood watching for a long moment, and then she turned to head back to the house as the setting sun drenched the surroundings in fiery red.
There was work to be done.
(X)
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this.
Next: CRAB Battle
Wow - an entire afternoon with Arc, and not a crimson hair in sight. See, Akiha - she's not that bad.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
...Arc has a little sister, doesn't she? And she's pure evil, right? Why would she want another one?
Its good that unlike what most fanfic writers would write in situation like that, you didn't forced Akiha to be nicer to Arcueid than it would be in her character. After all, even toward Skiki, 90% of time Akiha is at best only civic (one of reasons I like her least of Shikis harem - she is arguably meaniest of all girls while having arguably weakest excuse to be jerk of them all).
Also, "Call me Nee-san" cracked me up.
In hindsight "Tea for Two" hinted its gonna be about Akiha since no one else drink that much of it. Anyone want to guess what kind "Crabs" it about? I think it had something to do with Nero, if google is to believed. That or Arcueid clash with Ciel in "all you can eat sea-food buffet".
I think CRAB is an acronym or it is crab curry
Not shown is the scene immediately after the story where Akiha goes and sets fire to a bunch of Kohaku's houseplants.Wow - an entire afternoon with Arc, and not a crimson hair in sight. See, Akiha - she's not that bad.
Aside from the fact that it's unclear whether Arcueid considers Altrouge a sister at all, Altrouge is Arcueid's older sister.
Feel free to guess about the story. You'll know in a couple of days!
Crab curry? Never seen that before, it must be said.
The World of the Moon
(X)
Twenty Eight: CRAB Battle Part One: Operation CRAB Battle
This was, in fact, one of the very earliest ideas I had when I first decided to do this series of oneshots. However, I decided to hold off until now, in other to build up amongst the other ‘humour’ stories.
I hope you all enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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The room was illuminated by a single light bulb. The walls were bare and unadorned, showing that the walls were made of drab concrete. A single wooden table and several plastic folding chairs were the only furniture within the room.
It was, by any account, a dingy place that most would not want to spend any time in.
And yet Akiha was sitting in one of the chairs, arms folded.
There was, in fact, a very good reason for her to hold the meeting she wanted in this particular place.
If only she knew what it was.
“Remind me, Kohaku,” she said to her maid, who was busy rearranging the other chairs in a small circle around the table. “Why did you choose this place when I asked you for a meeting location, again?”
“Why, Akiha-sama!” Kohaku glanced up, a cheery smile on her face. “You want secrecy and privacy for a meeting location, don’t you? This way, we won’t risk anyone who shouldn’t know about the meeting being here!”
“Are you sure we’re not risking people who should know about the meeting being here?” Akiha retorted, her arms folded. “It’s been fifteen minutes past the agreed meeting time, and no one else is here. Not even Hisui!”
“Fufufufu…” Kohaku chuckled into her sleeve. “Why, Akiha-sama, don’t you worry. Everyone we invited has such a large stake in this endeavour that there’s no way they’ll allow themselves to miss it.”
Almost as if on cue, a knock sounded at the door before it swung open to reveal Ciel, clad in the Executor’s robes. She marched into the room, giving a cordial nod to Akiha and Kohaku before she settled herself in one of the chairs, arms folding, waiting patiently.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Akiha sat back to wait as well.
(X)
“Is that everyone?” Akiha glanced at Kohaku, who smiled and nodded. “All right then, before we begin our meeting, I think we should do a quick roll call in order to ascertain that we are all present and on the same page. I am Akiha Tohno, chair of the meeting. Kohaku?”
“Present and ready, Akiha-sama!” Kohaku beamed.
“Hisui?”
“Present, Akiha-sama.” Hisui murmured from her position beside her sister.
“Curry?”
“My name is Ciel.”
“I’ll take that as a ‘Present’. Next… Sion?”
“I am here, Akiha-san. Apologies for being late,” the alchemist nodded.
“Present, too!” Riesbyfe raised a hand and chuckled. “Sion guessed I might be useful in the long run, so she brought me.”
“I did not guess. I calculated-“
“Ahem,” Akiha coughed. “I believe that’s all of us. Now-“
“Er… excuse me.”
“Hm?” Akiha glanced over. “Yes? Did I miss someone?”
Nervously, Satsuki raised her hand. “Yes, me. I’m Satsuki Yumizuka.”
“Oh, right, the back alley vampire,” Akiha shrugged. “Well, hello. On to busi-“
“Well, actually, I wanted to ask… are there any extra chairs? Because… I’ve kind of been left standing here.”
Akiha blinked. “Kohaku?”
“Sorry, Akiha-sama, but these were all I could bring on short notice.”
“Well, that’s fine too. You can stand in the corner.”
“Eeeh?”
“Anyway, moving on,” Akiha cleared her throat. “I trust everyone here knows what we’re here for?”
A silence descended on the assembled group, uneasy glances being passed between all members present. Finally, Ciel broke the silence with a cough, “We all want Tohno-kun.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Akiha nodded again. “And under ordinary circumstances, we’d all be competing for his attention. However, today I have called us together because we share a common foe.”
“The True Ancestor,” Sion said once, and a ripple of agreement passed through everyone present.
“That’s right. She has already wormed her way into Nii-san’s heart. Her and her stupid vapid laugh and tacky blonde hair and ridiculously oversized chest that bounce like volleyballs every time she so much as jumps! I bet she does that on purpose so that-“ Akiha’s rant continued as the roots of her hair began to shine red.
“Akiha-sama?” Kohaku said in a soothing tone as she lay a hand on her mistress’ shoulder.
“… Ahem. Right. As I was saying, none of us here stand a chance of winning Nii-san’s affections as long as the vampire is present. And that is why I have called this meeting today! Together, wer will plan Operation Cunningly Remove Arcueid Brunestud and rid ourselves of our greatest rival!”
Silence descended on everyone present.
“Cunningly Remove Arcueid Brunestud?” Ciel finally broke the silence.
“I suggested ‘Gently Remove Arcueid Brunestud’ because I think it makes a better acronym,” Kohaku said brightly. “But Akiha-sama didn’t like the ‘gently’ part.”
“I cannot imagine why.” Sion murmured.
“Man, you guys want to take on the True Ancestor?” Riesbyfe scratched her forehead. “I mean, the Church basically gave up on trying something like that. And the Church doesn’t give up easy. I should know.”
“That’s right,” Sion sighed. “The True Ancestor would be able to defeat all of us with ease.”
“I could take her.” Ciel muttered under her breath.
“Yes, so we’ll have to find some other way besides violence,” Akiha nodded sagely. “Well then, I’ll open the floor to ideas.”
“… Hey, Hisui-san, you’re a part of this group too, right?” Ciel raised an eyebrow.
Hisui blushed and nodded, refusing to meet Ciel in the eye.
“Aw, don’t press Hisui-chan too hard!” Kohaku laughed and clapped her sister on the back. “She still doesn’t like admitting she has a crush on Shiki-san!”
“Yes, but that’s another matter,” Ciel’s gaze hardened. “Let’s have you cook for Arcueid – a dish so foul that it’ll send her back to the pit that she came from! That nearly happened to me after you prepared that curry dish for me the other day!”
Hisui’s only response was to lower her head even more as her cheeks blazed scarlet.
“That will not work, Ciel-san,” Akiha said sourly. “Arcueid… Arcueid likes Hisui’s cooking.”
A shocked silence descended on everyone present as they stared in consternation at Akiha.
“Truly… truly a fearsome opponent, the True Ancestor…” Sion mumbled, her eyes wide with shock.
“Well, that’s one idea scrapped,” Riesbyfe shrugged. “Next?”
“Ask her nicely?” Kohaku smiled. “Maybe she’ll be willing to step aside and let one of us aim for Shiki-san’s heart!”
“And pigs may fly.” Akiha muttered.
“We shall need to be methodical about this,” Sion said decisively. “If our final goal is to leave Shiki open in order for one of us to gain his affection, then we should focus our efforts on separating the two.”
“Yes, but how? Arcueid and Tohno-kun spend all their free time together, don’t they? Even after she got a part time job at that café.”
“Kidnap Shiki-san and hold him hostage until he chooses one of us instead of Arcueid?”
“You would suggest something like that, Kohaku.”
“Um…” Satsuki said.
“Spread a rumour that there’s been a Dead Apostle outbreak in Europe or somewhere? Arcueid would have to leave to track them down…”
“Knowing her she’d just drag Shiki along.”
“Well…” Satsuki tried to get everyone’s attention a second time, without much success.
“Find some of Zelretch’s magic and toss her into an alternate dimension for a while?”
“See, now you’re just being silly.”
“Um, everyone…?”
“Bribe her with a lifetime’s supply of rocky road ice cream to leave the boy alone?”
“Riesbyfe, be serious.”
“My fault, sorry. I shouldn’t have come to this meeting on an empty stomach.”
“Guys!” Satsuki finally shouted. “I know what we can do!”
Everyone finally turned to regard Satsuki, who swallowed, shrinking back slightly now that she had everyone’s attention.
“We… we could go get the Anti-Love Potion.”
“The Anti…”
“Love…”
“Potion?”
“Uh-huh!” Satsuki nodded enthusiastically. “If two people who love each drink it, they’ll fall right out of love with each other immediately! It’s the perfect way to separate the two!”
“Nonsense,” closing her eyes, Ciel dismissed Satsuki’s claim with a shake of her head. “A Conceptual Artefact like that is nothing more than a myth. If it existed the Church would know of it.”
“Atlas had records on such an item, of course,” Sion nodded once. “But they were all firmly in the categories of unconfirmed myths. I do not think this will be a useful avenue to pursue, Yumizuka-san.”
“No, guys!” Satsuki shook her head angrily. “The potion really does exist!”
“Really,” Ciel scoffed. “If that’s true, then I suppose you must know where it’s located too?”
“Right!” Satsuki nodded. “It’s located in the treasury of the Great Garden of Cats! White Len told me about it!”
A silence fell across everyone in the room. Those in the know looked varying stages of grave and apprehensive, those who didn’t merely raised eyebrows in confusion.
“Even… even so, are you seriously suggesting we intrude on the territory of the Necos?” Ciel said angrily. “If you knew anything about them, you would not be so foolhardy, Yumizuka!”
“The executor is right,” Sion nodded. “That is an extremely risky move you’re suggesting, Yumizuka-san.”
“Maybe! But! But if it’s for Tohno-kun’s sake, then…!”
Another silence in the room as everyone looked at Yumizuka. Now that she had come out and said it, no one wanted to appear less devoted to the ideal of attaining Shiki than Yumizuka, and so no one wanted to claim that this wasn’t worth the risk.
Finally, Kohaku sighed and leaned back in her chair, a smile on her face. “Well, we might try going there. But just where is this Garden located? And how long will it take us to make the trip?”
“… About a week, I think?”
“Eh? Then won’t Tohno-kun find something fishy about all of us disappearing for a week?”
“No need to worry about that,” Akiha said curtly. “Both Arcueid and Nii-san are gone on trips right now. That’s why I felt safe in holding this mission.”
“Eh?” Ciel’s eyes widened. “But I don’t recall Tohno-kun showing up as absent on the class registers…”
“Yes, apparently he had a way to handle that. I’m not sure exactly what it is, though.”
(X)
“Yo, Tohno!”
He remained staring out the window, at the stunningly clear blue sky. A grimace marked his face. He could be out there killing something right now instead of being stuck in this classroom. Damn that brat for getting him to come here instead. (He chose to ignore the voice that told him his familiar wouldn’t let him be killing things anyway even if he were on the streets now.)
“Hey, Tohno! That still is your name, isn’t it?”
He turned back to face the irritant, pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose as he did so. (And that was the other thing. The glasses were hellishly uncomfortable. How the hell did Tohno put up with wearing them all the time?)
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, Shiki Tohno is my name, and that is who I am. I am Shiki Tohno, and not his far cooler and sexier alter ego spawned from his nightmares of what he might have been had he chosen a different, more sensible path in life,” a long indulgent sigh. “Curse his studly bones.”
“…” Arihiko stared dumbly at him for a long moment before waving his hand and turning away. “Whatever man. I can’t deal with your nonsense right now.”
Nanaya watched the delinquent stroll out of the classroom before slumping back in his chair, his arms folded.
(X)
“Anyway,” Akiha continued. “Back to the matter at hand. I’m not sure where Nii-san and Arcueid are off to – only that they went off alone and not together, but that leaves us with the time we need.”
“A visit to the Great Garden of the Cats,” Ciel murmured. “Well, this should prove interesting, if nothing else.”
“… Well, I’m not opposed in principle,” Sion nodded. “However, this will be a difficult journey.”
“In that case, the matter is settled,” Akiha got to her feet and nodded. “We’ll meet tomorrow evening in the gardens of my mansion. In the meantime, I expect everyone to be preparing for this trip to the best of our ability. This is our big chance – we must not fail!”
As Akiha turned and left the room, she leaned over slightly towards Kohaku, who was following up closely behind her. “We’ve our own plans to make, don’t we?”
“Of course, Akiha-sama!” Kohaku nodded. “Our plans to doublecross the others and gain the advantage for ourselves? Leave it all to me!”
“…” Hisui sighed and looked down at the floor.
“You’re not feeling guilty, are you, Hisui?” Akiha looked at the quiet made. “Remember, all’s fair in love and war.”
“I… I understand, Akiha-sama,” Hisui nodded. “I shall perform to the best of my ability.”
(X)
“Seven. Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.”
“Hm? Master? Wow, that meeting sure dragged on a lot! What was that all about?”
Ciel’s frown deepened as she contemplated the task ahead of her. Infiltrating the Great Garden of the Cats was one thing, but even after they had succeeded in gaining that potion…
Everyone else was still an obstacle to her goal of securing Tohno-kun for herself.
Of all her opponents, her most dangerous after Arcueid would be Akiha. She would stop at nothing to gain her brother’s affection, and Ciel was familiar enough with fanaticism to recognize it in others.
And then there was Sion. The Atlas Alchemist would be going over her plans in meticulous detail, Ciel was sure. She would need to ensure that she was taken out of the picture too.
And Kohaku… who knew what that one was planning.
“We’ll need to make special preparations, Seven.”
“Hm? For what?”
Ciel didn’t bother to answer and instead continued walking back to her apartment, her head buzzing with plans.
(X)
“Well, that was a productive meeting, wasn’t it, Yumizuka-san, Riesbyfe?”
“You really think so?” Riesbyfe shrugged. “I think it’s a pretty harebrained scheme, myself.”
“No! It’ll work!” Yumizuka clenched her fists. “It has to work! This is my shot at securing Tohno-kun for myself!”
“Heh,” Riesbyfe sighed. “You realize that’s what everyone else here thought as well? Sion included.”
“…” Sion had the graces to look somewhat annoyed.
“Man, with how headstrong all you guys are, I’m surprised you were even able to agree on anything. You really think your alliance will hold up?”
“Of course not.”
“Eh?”
“Of course our alliance won’t hold. It is merely a temporary one on the basis of a common foe. In fact, I calculate an 86.3 percent chance that our alliance will completely disintegrate before we have even achieved our goal of obtaining that potion,” Sion said calmly. “However, until that happens, I have every intention of making use of their talents, as they no doubt intend to make use of ours.”
“Well, sounds like you’re prepared for one big messy punchup,” Riesbyfe rubbed the back of her head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Sion.”
“… You don’t need to come if you don’t want to, Riesbyfe,” Sion pointed out. “Unlike the rest of us, you don’t have a personal stake in this.”
Riesbyfe chuckled. “What, and leave two friends in the lurch. Come on, Sion. It’s not like I had anything else on my plate at the moment.”
“Right!” Yumizuka smiled at Riesbyfe. “Thanks! Thanks for your help,” and then she turned to Sion. “… May the best girl win, Sion.”
“Indeed,” Sion smiled back. “Well then, let us be on our way. We’ve much to do before we are ready for this adventure.”
*~*
Far away, in what might not even be the same planet as the one Akiha and the others were on right now…
“How much further?” Shiki mumbled as he staggered through the waist-deep snow.
“Not very,” came the calm voice. “Let’s keep moving.”
“You know, you said it ‘wasn’t much farther either’ twenty minutes ago,” Shiki pointed out somewhat grumpily as he continued his trek. Then again, given that he was tired, cold, sore and hungry, he had silently decided that he could be forgiven unpleasant behaviour right now.
“Well, I must admit I’m no longer very good at judging distances,” a calm chuckle. “When one has the ability to appear wherever they want in the blink of an eye, such skills tend to be wasted and wither away.”
“… If you could make us appear wherever so easily, why have me walk through the snow like this?”
“My dear boy, you should consider yourself grateful I brought you as far as I did with my sorcery. It was only because you told me this was for my granddaughter that I deigned to aid you,” the smile never left Zelretch’s face. “For her sake, such a trifling hike is no problem at all, is it?”
There was no direct reply from the boy, but Zelretch’s sharp ears could hear several almost-inaudible mutters coming from the boy, including the words ‘troll’, ‘smartass’, and ‘old fart’. His smile only widened.
“In any case, we really are almost there,” lifting his cane, he pointed with it towards the distance. “See that cave? With the red glow coming out of it? That’s it.”
Shiki raised his eyes, and he could indeed see a warm light pouring out from a cavern. With a renewed burst of strength, he moved forward ahead of Zelretch, crossing the distance and ducking into the cavern.
All around him sparkled hundreds of shining gems. In all of them a fiery radiance shone in their centre, a living flame that never faded or waned.
“A cache of firestar crystals,” Zelretch said from behind Shiki as he ducked into the cavern. “One of the absolute last of their kind. Well then, find one that you think will be suitable. Don’t worry, we’ve plenty of time.”
With a nod to Zelretch, Shiki began to move further into cave, examining each of the crystals carefully, seeking to find the perfect one. Meanwhile, standing in the entrance, Zelretch shook his head.
“Young love.” He muttered.
(X)
“Is everyone ready?” Akiha questioned the rest of the girls gathered around her. Brief murmurs of agreement came from the people assembled, and Akiha nodded in satisfaction.
“Then, let us move out! Let Operation CRAB commence!”
“… Can we call it something else?”
(X)
Yes, this is a multi-part story. I have debased the very idea of my own fic. I am so ashamed.
Next: CRAB Battle Part Two: The Great Cat Garden Offensive
Oh Nanaya you have such a way with words.“Yes,” he said. “Yes, Shiki Tohno is my name, and that is who I am. I am Shiki Tohno, and not his far cooler and sexier alter ego spawned from his nightmares of what he might have been had he chosen a different, more sensible path in life,” a long indulgent sigh. “Curse his studly bones.”
I predict Neco-Arc's appearance in the Garden . . . And an engagement ring to be made out of that crystal.
I also think Akiha ought to have gone with ARAB - Absolutely (or Authoritatively) Remove Arcueid Brunestud.
“Love will be cruel to who it entices — love will have its sacrifices.”
— Carmilla Theme
"Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference."
―Jim Butcher, Vignette
You know what, this may be indeed Arcueid's most terrible power. The ability to enjoy Hisui's cooking.“That will not work, Ciel-san,” Akiha said sourly. “Arcueid… Arcueid likes Hisui’s cooking.”
A shocked silence descended on everyone present as they stared in consternation at Akiha.
“Truly… truly a fearsome opponent, the True Ancestor…” Sion mumbled, her eyes wide with shock.
[...]
*Currently laughing own face off from chapter*
*5 mins later*
Great job, this promises to be good =D
(What happened to Arcueid anyway, if Shiki is with Zelretch?)
'Fae is Foul' - My SAO/ZnT Crossover fanfic (SB Thread) (FFN Link)
I think Shiki is getting the ring to propose, and Arc is suppose to be unaware of everything
Probably the most hilarious part of this chapter. Even Ries, the accidental co-conspirator, gets a chair. Isn't it sad, Sacchin?“Well, actually, I wanted to ask… are there any extra chairs? Because… I’ve kind of been left standing here.”
Akiha blinked. “Kohaku?”
“Sorry, Akiha-sama, but these were all I could bring on short notice.”
“Well, that’s fine too. You can stand in the corner.”
“Eeeh?”
Nanaya, even if he has to cover for his other self, is still awesome.
Year 1
Salt Corner
Awesome!!
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